FileSonic Disables File Sharing in the Wake of MegaUploads Takedown

After the arrest in New Zealand of MegaUploads founder Kim Dotcom and shutdown of the site over allegations of digital piracy, any and all sites that facilitate file sharing should take notice. At least one, FileSonic.com, is taking steps to distance itself from that kind of negative attention from law enforcement. It announced, via a simple banner on its homepage, that it has disabled file sharing.

The banner reads: “All sharing functionality on FileSonic is now disabled. Our service can only be used to upload and retrieve files that you have uploaded personally.”

FileSonic, which is based in Hong Kong and UK, offers free and paid storage plans. The free option gives users 10GB of storage, 30 days of storage time, and a maximum file size of 1GB, with throttled upload/download speeds. The Pro plan, starting at $9/mo for 30 days, offers unlimited storage, storage time, and speed, with maximum files sizes of 5GB.

To its credit, FileSonic hasn’t suddenly become an anti-piracy poster child overnight. Last year, the site deployed Vobile’s vCloud9 to sniff out possible copyright-infringing files that are uploaded using the service, and it also joined the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), a group that works to combat online criminal content such as child pornography.